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Cream Cheese Filled Banana & Date Bread

There’s probably thousands of things I go bananas for. A sandwich with a thick layer of Nutella and banana slices on top. Fried bananas with rum and a scoop of ice cream for breakfast – yes I can be that sinful. Sipping a banana milkshake and feeling the ice cold creaminess running down my throat. Ahhh, at this moment I need to stop my saliva from flowing out of my mouth.

Banana bread is an all time american classic, the texture is somewhere in between cake and a soggy bread. It is best to use overripe bananas, since they tend to have the richest banana flavour, but normal ripe bananas will do just as good. Spread with jam, butter or nutella, it makes a perfect sunday breakfast – or a perfect I’M FEELING MISERABLE SO GIVE ME THOSE DAMN CALORIES moment, depending on your own point of view.

When I wrote this recipe, I was looking for a bread that mostly relied on the natural sweetness & flavour of the dates & bananas. The cream cheese filling can even make it unnecessary to spread it with a topping, which turns this bread into a perfect on-the-go treat. YAY!

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease a rectangular baking pan (30 x 10 cm) with butter or oil and cover with baking paper.

In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork until you have a smooth purée. Whisk in eggs and cane sugar until fully incorporated. Chop dates into small pieces and add along with flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix shortly until you have a smooth batter. Finally, pour milk into the batter and stir, making sure not to overmix.

Pour half the batter into the baking pan. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and honey until smooth.

Spoon cream cheese mixture lengthwise over the middle of the batter, then top with remaining batter. Sprinkle with some cane sugar to give the bread a nice and crunchy topping.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the side of the bread comes out clean. Serve with hot coffee and gooooooood morning vibes!